Girl of Earth
by LaserLace
Summary: After the giant war, things seemed to go back to normal. That is, until something very old and very new decided to take the world back. Renette and Julia's life changed on the day Renette had the dream. Now they were at a place called Camp Half Blood, and boy, were they in for the ride of their lives. Adventure! Romance! Humor! Rated T for mild swearing and some adult themes.
1. Chapter 1: R e N e T t E

** Hey there! Just so you know, this isn't my first fanfic. It's my second. I just haven't posted the first one (It's a Killjoy fanfiction). I'm going to be writing this in the style of Heroes of Olympus, for now. Two chapters per character. The first two are written through one of my OC's perspective, hope you don't mind. I have two other chapters currently, so I'll post them every couple of days or so. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus. I only own my OCs, and the plot to this fic.**

* * *

I

ReNeTtE

"Shhh, shhh, it's okay, Julia, it's okay." Said Renette, slowly rocking the little girl back and forth. She was twelve, but the size of a nine year old.

"Why do I keep seeing things? What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you, sweetie. Just calm down, okay?"

Despite her efforts, Julia continued to sob. Sometimes Renette didn't know what to do with Julia. She was always seeing things. The future, she said. And it scared her to death. Death... That's something that Renette would know a lot about. And she also knew why Julia saw the future. But she would never tell her. Never. Renettehad had that weight on her shoulders when she was only eight, and she never wanted Julia to know the truth, because it was just so heavy. She would never let them get her. Renette could feel them, sometimes. Watching her and Julia. An eye in the sky- literally.

Once Julia had cried herself out, she just sat there in the little clearing, looking blank. Renette and Julia had camped out in some woods in Virginia, and there were no signs of monsters... Yet. The cold wind rustled the trees, making leaves the color of autumn fall around them. It didn't look like rain, which was good. They didn't have a tent. Just a couple of sleeping bags and a backpack each. Both girls were almost clean out of food... So that meant Renette would either have to steal some soon, or try her hardest to get a job for a couple of days. Jobs were hard for her, because if she didn't keep moving then monsters would find her. As for the stealing, Renette hated it. But sometimes they had no choice. She had to keep Julia fed. Even if that meant getting arrested or attacked by monsters. Even though Julia was much faster and smaller than Renette, Renette would never let her steal. Stealing was bad. And Renette didn't want Julia doing anything bad. She didn't want her life to go downhill, like Renette's had. No bad choices for Julia.

"You should get some sleep, Julia." Renette said. The moon was high in the sky.

"Can't." Julia said.

"Something you saw?" Renette guessed. Julia waited a moment before answering.

"Yes."

"Listen, sweetie, you've got to get some rest. You can't do anything about those visions. Just get some sleep."

"Okay..." Julia grumbled, spreading out her sleeping bag.

"I'm just worried, Renette."

"About what?" Renette asked.

"I'm worried that one day I'll see a vision of... A vision of... Well, a vision of you. Or a vision of my mom. And I won't be able to stop it."

"Don't worry about it, Julia. I'll take watch. Don't think about it." Renette said. Julia didn't answer. But she still blinked back tears.

For the first few hours that Renette had watch, nothing happened except the occasional wild animal running through the forest. And a ghost. They appeared to Renette sometimes. How annoying. If she told them to go away, they listened. But that was no mystery. In the night, Renette almost blended in. Her

black hair, dark blue t-shirt and black jeans seemed to melt in the darkness. The only contrast was her pale skin, that seemed white against her long ebony hair. Julia was almost an opposite to her. The twelve year old had blonde hair the color of sunlight. She always wore bright colors, reds and pinks and yellows. The only thing she and Renette had in common were their eyes. Each girl had blue eyes. Julia's the color of a clear day, Renette's more stormy. How fitting.

By the time Renette had been on watch for about four hours, the first shafts of sunlight could be seen on the horizon. It was Julia's stupid dad driving that stupid chariot across the sky. _Sorry_, not chariot. _Sports car._ What a little- she didn't finish the thought. The ghosts had told her what he was like. Of course, Julia didn't know who her dad was. Her mom never told her, and there was no way in hell that Renette would tell her. She hoped Julia never found out. That way the gods could never take her away. Well, okay, Renette didn't know for sure that Apollo was Julia's dad, but it was so obvious, if you knew what to look for. Julia never missed the bullseye when handling a bow, and the girl practically radiated sunlight. She had a healing touch. She was wonderful at almost any musical instrument, stringed ones in particular. Plus, there was that whole seeing the future thing. That was an Apollo thing. Renette had heard stories from ghosts about some of Apollo's kids that shared what they saw... And the result wasn't pretty. To think that the stupid god would even consider doing things like that to his own kids was sickening. And of course she had read myth about him- she had read myth about all of the gods. She didn't want Julia exposed to it. Even though she wanted Julia to share her visions, Renette deemed it too dangerous. What if one of those horrible things happened to Julia? Renette would never be able to bear it. She knew that the gods were constantly watching them... Waiting for a mistake. Renette could tell they hated her. Why? First of all, they didn't know who her godly parent was. And they knew how powerful she was. Well, they didn't know the whole show, otherwise they'd be able to tell who her dad was. But either way, it was dangerous being watched all the time. Before she did anything too terribly revealing of her powers, she'd have to make sure she didn't feel that little tickling feeling on the back of her neck. She could feel them watching right now. Renettewas surprised they hadn't killed her yet. She didn't know why exactly, but she had her suspicions. She protected Julia. And she could tell that Julia was... Important.

The sun rose high above them. Renette glared at it. She really should've woken Julia up by now, the younger girl hated Renette staying up all night. Too late now, Renette thought. As the sun was right over their heads, Julia woke up. At sunrise, no matter where they were, Julia woke up. She was shaking. She'd probably had a bad dream about what she had seen.

"Did you... Did you not wake me up at all?" Julia asked, irritated.

"Hey, I'm older! I can stay up later!"

"Not true, Renette! You're only five years older than me anyway!"

Renette didn't say anything.

"You should get some rest, Renette. I won't be able to go to sleep anyway." Julia said, motioning her head towards the sun.

"Fine." Renette said, stretching out on her sleeping bag. She closed her eyes and instantly fell asleep.

* * *

Demigod dreams aren't that much fun.

Renette was in the woods of the north. She knew it was the north because she knew that it wasn't the south. She had spent enough time in the south to know what it looked like.

It looked like people were recovering from a battle- a bunch of teenage kids and half-goat kids (satyrs, right?) slowly retreating from the dense woods. They were walking towards a large clearing, with lots of cabins lined up in a U shape. More cabins were spread out in other shapes in other places. Some of the buildings were smoking, and a couple of places looked like they used to have a cabin there. But right now, it just looked like a pile of rubble. Some of the kids carried stretchers, and Renette noticed that teenage girls with green-tinted skin were now walking among them, a few of them freaking out over injured satyrs.

They stopped in the middle of the clearing with the U cabins, Renette gliding along beside them. Suddenly the crowd parted, and a centaur with curly brown hair and a teenaged red headed girl walked through. The centaur was carrying a bow, with an almost empty quiver of arrows strapped to his back. Several cuts and bruises blemished the white stallion part of him. The red headed girl looked frazzled, but unharmed.

The centaur spoke.

"I know that we have suffered losses today-"

"Losses?!" One of the kids cried out, cutting off the centaur.

"My cabin burned down!"

"My best friend is DEAD!"

"The camp is in ruins!" Tons of kids were yelling.

"Wait!" A boy stepped forward. He looked about eighteen, with dark hair and sea green eyes.

"Let Chiron speak."

"Thank you, Percy. As I was saying." The centaur, who was apparently named Chiron, continued.. Wait. _The_ Chiron? Not right now, Renette thought. Just listen.

"I know that we have suffered many losses today. Some of them great, some of them minor. But now is the time that we need each other the most. I think that we should treat the wounded and get the camp cleaned up. Then we will discuss a battle plan."

The crowd remained quiet. The centaur Chiron left, followed by the red headed girl who was looking more frantic by the second. The kid named Percy turned away, looking so grim Renette didn't think it was possible. He looked around like he'd lost something important.

"Something's not right here." Said a boy that looked about fifteen or sixteen. He had longish black hair, pale skin, and a silver skull ring. He was dressed pretty much all in black, and was holding a black sword. He turned toward Renette.

But he can't see me! He can't see me!, Thought Renette, internally freaking out. The miserable boy Percy walked over.

"What is it, Nico?" He asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Can't you feel that? That... Chill? Like someone's watching us?" The boy named Nico asked, walking straight to Renette.

"Umm.. Nope, no scary presences here." Said sad Percy, stepping up beside Nico.

Get out! Get out now!, Renette ordered herself. But she couldn't. She was stuck. The boy named Nico took a sudden step back.

"Get out!" Renette told herself, aloud this time.

"Get out!" She felt energy pooling around her. The ground started shaking. People everywhere shot frantic glances at the scene.

Oh, god, she thought. I'm really doing this. Doing it for real. But then she started to dissipate. She woke up, to the sound of a girl screaming.

* * *

"Renette! Renette! WAKE UP!" Julia shrieked, terrified. Well, Renette was already awake. And no, she did not like what she saw.

"Dr-dr-dr-dra-drakon." Her voice was barely a whisper. She clamped a hand over Julia's mouth, muffling her screams. The giant serpent took up almost the whole clearing. The piercing yellow eyes stared right at Renette, paralyzing her with fear. Oh my god, Renette thought. Oh my god. I'm going to die. I'm going to die. The tickling sensation on the back of her neck seemed to grow stronger, like the whole family had gathered to watch the show.

The drakon lifted its head back. It opened its mouth, like it was going to blow fire. Like it was going to blow fire. Fire.

No, please, no, Renette thought. Not now. Not when they're watching.

The drakon's eyes were no longer fixed on her, so Renette had just enough time to gather her self before she made her move. She did the only thing she could at the moment. She caused an earthquake. The drakon looked down, confused. A crack in the earth had torn open right underneath the drakon, spreading wider every second. The drakon seemed to panic, flailing. It reared its head back and spewed fire into the air.

"Julia! Get up!" Renette ordered, pulling the girl up by her arm. Both girls grabbed their backpacks and sleeping bags, and bounded off into the woods. Once they were about twenty feet away, Renette stole a glance back at the clearing. The whole place was on fire, and spreading quickly. The crack Renette had made in the ground was also spreading quickly, catching up to them. She knew that she couldn't close it up this time.

"There's a river up ahead! We need to get to it! Someone's there!" Screamed Julia, but she was still hard to hear over the roar of flames and cracking earth.

"How do you know someone's there?" Renette screamed back.

"Is it- oh!" She must have seen it. She must have foreseen someone waiting for them. This was the first time Julia had ever shared something she saw- oh, god, no. What was going to happen? Renette had no time to think about it as they crashed through the dense woodland and out into the clear dewy morning. Renette and Julia ran forward, crashing straight into something. Everything and everyone flew back, careening into the river.

Renette was swept downstream. She had no idea where Julia was, and that freaked her out more than the fact that she was heading straight for the rapids. She sputtered and gasped, desperately trying to get a glimpse of Julia. That's when she hit her first rock.

She slammed into it full force, knocking the breath out of her. Then she hit another, and another, and another, and another. The world seemed to spin, and she heard someone calling her name. Suddenly the river lurched backwards, and Renettewas knocked out of the water on a big water spout. She was dumped on the river bank, coughing up what must have been gallons of water. She felt something tugging at her lungs, and all the water rushed out of her chest. She felt herself being pulled up, and she felt dizzy. A weird drink that tasted exactly like her mom's cake recipe was brought to her lips, and she felt better. That's right... it was called Nectar. She'd never had it before. Renette didn't expect it to be so... sad. She heard sobbing, a dog barking, and too many voices to count. One voice broke through.

"Renette! Wake up! Please! Please, please wake up!" It was Julia. Renette's eyes shot open, and she sucked in air like she never had before. Julia was in front of her, crying her eyes out. Renette pulled her into a hug.

"I'm okay, sweetie." She looked up.

"You!" Renette exclaimed, standing up abruptly, but almost falling over.

It was them. It was the sad boy Percy, and the kid called Nico. Plus a gigantic dog, a kid who Renette recognized from her dream, and a very tall boy thatRenette realized had only one eye. _A cylcops_.

"H-h-how did you get here so fast?" Renette said.

"We didn't." Said sad boy Percy.

"What?" She said.

"What Percy means is that it wasn't fast. I'm guessing you saw us in a dream?" The kid called Nico asked.

"Yeah! About ten minutes ago!" The Nico kid looked sort of confused.

"Well, that's weird." Said the boy that she recognized from her dream, but didn't know by name. He had curly dark brown hair, slightly pointy ears, and a very mischievous grin. He looked around the same age as Percy.

"The name's Leo, by the way." He added, flashing a dazzling smile.

"Now is not the time, Leo." Said sad Percy.

"I'm just saying hello!"

"Yeah, alright." He turned, addressing Renette.

"I'm Percy. This is Nico." He said.

"Leo already introduced himself. He's Tyson." Percy said, pointing towards the cyclops. "And that's Mrs. O'Leary." He pointed towards the giant dog. Renette tilted her head.

"Hellhound!" She exclaimed. Everybody jumped, except for poor little Julia, still crying. But it wasn't the same crying as she was doing earlier, when they had pulled Renette out of the water. It was the kind of crying she did when she saw a particularly scary vision. The shaky, hyperventilating kind. Renette's eyes widened in fear. What was it this time?

"What are your names, exactly?" Said Nico, interrupting Renette's moment of terror.

"I'm Renette." She said. "And this is Julia." She added, crouching beside the little girl. She cradled her in her arms, rocking her back and forth like she always does during a long vision.

"It'll be okay, sweetie. Just wait it out. It'll be okay." Renette said. The new group looked rather confused.

"One minute." She said to them, giving what was hopefully a pleading look. Percy nodded.

"She is pretty." Said Tyson the cyclops, but Percy quickly shushed him.

After about five minutes, Julia stopped crying. But she continued to shudder scarily. Renette just kept rocking her back and forth, telling her that it'd be okay. Then Julia stopped altogether, and passed out.

"Julia!" Cried Renette, catching the little girl before she hit the ground. Percy got up to help, and they laid Julia down on top of her sleeping bag.

"Um, I hope nobody minds me asking, but what just happened here?" Leo piped up. Renette opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. Everybody ignored Leo. Renette got the feeling they did that a lot.

"It is okay." Said Tyson the cyclops. "She is asleep. She will wake up. Do not worry." He patted Renette on the head, and she felt strangely better.

"Thank you, Tyson. You're right." She said with a smile, and sat herself up straighter.

"Okay. I'll tell you guys everything. Well, almost everything. If you'll tell me how you got here so fast."

"We didn't get here fast at all! It took a whole week to find you! Because Nico here took so long!" Cried Leo.

"Why don't you try looking for someone on hunches alone!" Nico shot back.

"I don't even know why we had to find this chic anyway! It has nothing to do with Annabeth!"

"You heard the Oracle!"

"Hey! Her name is Rachel!" Interjected Percy.

"Um-" Renette said, trying to get their attention. She failed, and they continued to bicker. Tyson the cyclops looked upset. The hellhound Mrs. O'Leary let out a howl.

"HEY!" Renette yelled. That got their attention.

"WHAT?" They all said in unison. Renette raised her arms in mock surrender.

"I just think we should get back on track, that's all. Please explain to me what's happened, and how you got here. Evidently, not very fast."

Percy took a deep breath.

"Sorry. You saw us in a dream, right? What exactly did you see?"

Renette paused for a moment. She decided it would be best to tell the truth.

"I saw a bunch of kids and satyrs leaving the woods. It looked like a battle had just happened. A centaur named Chiron spoke. Then... Then _you_ noticed me." She pointed at Nico.

"I tried to get out. But... I mean, I didn't mean to. Honest."

Percy tilted his head.

"Mean to what?"

"I didn't mean to cause that earthquake. Sorry if I damaged your- well, wherever you guys were."

"Hm." Nico said.

"This is... Really weird." Leo commented.

"But how did I do that? I know my strengths. Never before have I caused something to happen in a dream. _Especially_ not one that took place in the past."

"Wait... So you know what you are?" Percy asked her. Renette took a quick glance at Julia.

"You sure she's asleep?" She asked.

"Yes. The blonde girl is asleep." Tyson confirmed, sitting next to Julia's unconscious form.

"I know what I am. But Julia doesn't. So please, please don't tell her."

"Why not?" Percy asked.

"I don't want her to know. I can't let them... I'm sorry. I don't think I can say anymore. They're watching." Renette said, her voice quavering with worry.

"Who's watching?" Percy asked, whispering.

"She means the gods. The gods are watching. But how can you tell?" Nico said, staring at her. Leo seemed to be impartial. He was messing with something in his hand. It looked like metal.

"I can feel them. On the back of my neck. They're always watching me. When will they stop watching me?" Renette said, almost a little desperately.

"It's okay." Nico said. "Don't worry about it right now. Do you know who your godly parent is?"

"Yes." She said. "And I know who Julia's is, too. But that's exactly why they're watching me. They don't know. They want to know. But I don't want them to."

"How old are you?" Percy asked.

"Seventeen. Wait, why?"

"Reasons. It's important. What about her?" He said, motioning his head towards Julia. Renette thought about maybe not answering, but she decided she could trust them.

"She's twelve."

"Hasn't been claimed, then." Percy muttered.

"No." Renette said.

"How do you know what claiming is?" Nico asked her.

"I know a lot of things." She said, smiling mischievously.

"But how?"

"Not tellin'. She said. Leo looked up at her and grinned like he'd been listening the whole time. Maybe he had been paying attention.

"Monster coming." Tyson announced.

"We should get going. Take them to camp." Percy said, hopping up. He sounded almost frantic.

"Wait! Camp for demigods? I don't think so!" Renette said.

"Why not?"

"Julia can't know! They'll take her away!"

"Who?"

"The gods! Leave! I can handle this! It's probably that drakon!"

"Drakon!?" Leo shouted. Percy and Nico just looked stunned.

"Yes! Now leave!" Renette said, with a lot more urgency.

"Yes! Leave! Monster coming!" Tyson said, panicking.

"I'll be fine." She said. They were then interrupted by Julia, who had apparently woken up. She was issuing a series of high pitched shrieks, pointing at the forest. When Renette turned, she saw the drakon advancing toward them.

* * *

It seemed to be wounded. Kind of like it was almost limping, if a serpent could limp. Was it burned? No, it couldn't be burned by its own flames. It was moving slower than it was before, but still too fast for Renette's liking. The drakon's eyes were fixed right on Renette, so she was paralyzed, once again.

"Alright. We're not leaving you here to die. Let's go." Percy said.

Renette still couldn't look away.

"I'll be fine!" She said.

"Tyson, if it's not too much trouble." Said Percy.

"Okay!" Came Tyson's cheery reply. She heard the big hellhound Mrs. O'Leary bounding over. Then Renette found herself getting hoisted up by Tyson the cyclops. Her eye contact with the drakonhad been broken, so she could move again.

"HEY! LET ME GO! THIS IS KIDNAPPING! AH!" She screamed, flailing about. But she was nothing compared to a cyclop's strength. He sat her on the huge dog, right beside Julia. The poor girl looked terrified. Her face was blank, like she'd just been looking into the Drakon's eyes.

"Alright, girl." Percy said, patting Mrs. O'Leary. "Take us to Camp Half Blood."

Renette would've gotten off, but she knew what Mrs. O'Leary was about to do. And she also knew that she could never get off fast enough and be able to take Julia with her. Renette closed her eyes, and braced herself for shadow traveling.

* * *

**So? What did you think? Reviews welcome! I'm sorry if there were any typos or technical errors, sometimes I miss them, and I ****_always_**** make them. **

**By the way, I think it sucked. But I think everything I write is absolutely horrid, so... Constructive criticism welcome! Please, please tell me what you think. I want at least two reviews before I post the next chapter. Until then, I bid you ado!**

**PS- This fic didn't look like this to begin with. added all sorts of gaps I couldn't remove. Like, there were originally spaces between each capital/little letter in the begin****ning, where I have "ReNeTtE". :(**


	2. Chapter 2: R e N e T t E

**Hello again! Here is the majestic Chapter Two! There's sort of a funny scene in this one! At least, I think it's kinda funny. I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and The Olympians, or Heroes of Olympus. I only own my OCs, and the plot to this fic.**

* * *

II

ReNeTtE

Mrs. O'Leary let out a howl. Then she ran forward, very, very fast. Like roller coaster fast. Renette felt herself lurching forward, and when she opened her eyes, they were in a sunny clearing. It was the same clearing with the cabins in a U shape. Kids everywhere came rushing out to greet them, asking too many questions to count.

"What happened?"

"Where's Annabeth?"

"What took you guys so long?"

"You guys didn't find Piper?"

The kids seemed to have no aversion to an enormous hellhound in their presence. Rennette guessed Mrs. O'Leary lived their, or at least visited frequently.

"Welcome." Spoke a calmer voice. The centaur, Chiron, was stepping towards them through the swarm of kids. He looked slightly confused and relieved when he saw them.

"I see that... We have two new demigods."

"Yes, and if it wouldn't be too much trouble, pretty please, could you let us go?" Renette asked him, sliding off Mrs. O'Leary.

"We'll see. Not quite yet. I have quite a few things to discuss with Percy, Leo and Nico. May I ask your name?"

She sighed. If they wouldn't let them go, Renette didn't know what she would do. But it didn't matter. Julia would know soon, anyway... She was going to be furious with Renette.

"I'm Renette."

"Pleasure to meet you, Renette. And your companion?" Chiron said, motion to Julia.

"Her name's Julia."

He nodded. Then he beckoned Percy, Nico and Leo to follow him. They walked towards a very large blue house in the distance. Looking at her surroundings, Renette saw all sorts of things. A lake, an arena, volleyball courts, and what looked like an amphitheater. She also saw a beach in the distance, and fields sprawling across the land. It was too cold for her liking. Renette turned to Tyson.

"So what exactly is this place? Percy said it was some kind of camp?"

"Yes!" Was Tyson's reply. "Summer camp for demigods!"

"But it isn't summer. So why are there so many people here?"

"Big battle brewing! We need more demigods to help fight."

Renette nodded. It would be a nuisance to be called to summer camp in fall, she thought.

"Who's the battle with?" She asked Tyson. He was about to answer, but was cut off by Julia.

"Renette? What's happening?" Her voice was shaking. She must have been fully coherent now.

"Why am I on a giant dog? What's going on?"

Renette felt like she was about to cry. And she didn't cry often.

"Slide down, sweetie. I'll tell you everything."

* * *

Renette helped Julia jump down off of Mrs. O'Leary, which was hard for Julia to do. She was just so small. Julia glanced at Tyson, and her eyes widened. Tyson waved at her, beaming. She waved back, a little wearily. She leaned in closer to Renette.

"He-he- he only has one eye."

"No, really?"

"Don't make fun of me, Renette. Tell me what's going on."

Renette took a deep breath.

"Okay. Come with me." She took Julia's hand and led her away to under a tree. They both sat down, cross legged. Renette decided to get straight to the point.

"Julia, you know about the Greek and Roman gods and stuff, right?"

Julia looked a little confused.

"Um, well, yeah." Renette paused for a moment, debating on the best way to tell Julia.

"And... You know that sometimes, in the myths, the gods have kids with humans? Called demigods?"

Julia remained silent. She wasn't stupid.

"Welllll, you're sort of... One of them." Renette said.

"I am?"

"Uhh... Yes."

Julia looked down at the ground.

"How long have you known?" She asked Renette. The question she had been dreading. Renette's eyes started to sting with tears.

"A long time."

"But how many years?"

"Julia, I... Fine. Nine years."

Julia looked like she couldn't breath.

"You didn't tell me?" She looked up, and Renette saw anger flash in her eyes.

"No, I-"

"So after all the visions that I've had, all the nightmares, and you knew all along." Renette remained silent, shamefully. Julia stood up.

"I-I- I thought something was wrong with me. I thought I was a freak. I thought I was crazy. And you _knew_? The whole time we've traveled together? And you didn't even think to-"

"No, Julia! I wanted to tell you. So many times. But-"

"No buts, Renette. I thought that... I thought that we were both a couple of freaks. Me with the whole future thing, you with the whole e-"

"Not here, Julia! They'll know!"

"Who?! Who will know?!"

"The gods, Julia! They can't know! They'll kill me! The only reason they haven't killed me yet is because... Because..."

"Because why?" Julia snapped. Renette looked down, defeated.

"Because... I-I-I protected you. And you're special." Julia looked like she had just been slapped.

"Special? Special how?"

"Your whole future thing. I mean, it's normal for your kind... But never like that."

"So I am a freak."

"No! It's-"

"I don't want to hear it, Renette! I thought I could trust you! I bet you know who my dad is too, don't you?" Renette didn't say anything. She felt a tear gliding down her cheek.

"Never mind." Said Julia, bitterly. And she stomped off, while Renette sat there in the grass, crying.

* * *

Renette stopped crying about half an hour later, and sat there for another half hour. She felt horrible. She knew this would happen. But still, she thought she could postpone it. Now everything was going to change. Renette heard something, and looked up. She saw a hand extended out to her, and Percy, who looked very concerned. She took his hand, and he helped her up.

"Thanks." She said.

"No problem." Percy said.

"Are you okay?" He waited a moment before asking, like he was maybe thinking better of it.

"I'll be fine." She answered, lying.

"Okay..." Said Percy. "Look, you can leave, if you want. At least stay tonight, though."

"Oh, we won't be leaving."

Percy looked surprised.

"Oh, you won't? That's great, I guess!" He proceeded to lead her away from the tree. "I'll show you around! We've got all sorts of cool stuff here, like-" Renette zoned out, and didn't hear what he was saying. No, she didn't know for sure that Julia would want to stay. But she would bet money on it. And wherever Julia went, Renette went. She would follow her in secret if she had too. Julia couldn't handle herself. What would happen if she was faced with a monster, but then had a vision? She would be helpless. Julia relied on Renette for a lot of things- food, protection, keeping her sane. That didn't mean Renette didn't need Julia, though. Julia was like her little sister. Her only companion for who knows how long. But now, she wouldn't be like that anymore- it would take a long time for Julia to forgive her, _if_ she forgave her at all. The thought was too painful. Renette turned her attentions back to Percy.

"Since we don't know who your godly parent is, you'll be staying in the Hermes cabin. They take in any unclaimed demigods." Renette nodded.

"I mean, unless you know who your mom or dad is. You said that you did earlier."

"Well, I know. But I'd prefer to stay in the Hermes cabin." Percy looked just a tad confused, but he nodded.

"And it would be great if we could keep that information between us, if possible."

"Um... Okay." She knew it was kind of risky to entrust that to him, but Renette felt like she could trust Percy. Most of the time.

"Thanks." She said, and gave him a smile.

* * *

Renette and Percy had made it to the arena by now, where Mrs. O'Leary and Tyson were playing fetch with a gigantic rubber ball. Off to the side, Leo and two other boys that looked like twins were whispering. They kept shooting pointed glances at a large girl in another part of the arena. She was practicing with a range of weapons on a training dummy.

"Okay! This is the arena I told you about, obviously."

"It's... Really big."

"Yeah, it-"

"What are they doing?" Renette interrupted Percy. She pointed at Leo and the two other boys.

"Oh, that's Leo. But you already know him. The other two are Connor and Travis Stoll from the Hermes cabin. Looks like they're about to play a prank on Clarisse over there." Right on cue, the group of three rolled a little gray ball towards the big girl, Clarisse. They started snickering madly. The ball rolled to a halt, right at Clarisse's feet. She looked down at it, but it was too late. The little ball blew up in a mass of smoke, clouding a quarter of the arena. Renette couldn't see Clarisse anymore, but she could hear her swearing.

"I'm gonna kill you!" She shrieked. Leo, Connor and Travis Stoll all ran out of there like they were being chased by some horrible monster. Clarisse barged out of the smoke, and she was dripping in green goo. Percy started cackling like a madman, and Renette couldn't help but start to laugh. Unfortunately, Clarisse heard them.

"JACKSON!" She shrieked.

"RUN!" Percy yelled. He grabbed Renette's hand and tugged her with him, charging straight towards the cabins.

"Oh! A newbie! Just wait till I get my hands on you!" Screamed Clarisse from behind them.

"Time to initiate phase two!" Leo, Travis and Connor said in unison, on Renette's left. She and Percy kept running, but stopped when they heard Clarisse screaming like she was being attacked. Renette and Percy turned around. What they saw made them both double over with laughter. Apparently Leo, Connor and Travis had gotten a hold of some magic toilet paper with wings. It flew around Clarisse, TPing her. She kept swatting at it, but it seemed to go on forever. Renette decided that she really liked Leo and the Stoll brothers.

Eventually, Clarisse got one good hit in, because they heard her screaming.

"I AM GONNA BEAT ALL OF YOU SO HARD YOU'RE NOT GONNA REMEMBER YOUR OWN NAMES!" Renette, Percy, Leo, Connor and Travis all started yelling in terror at one time, running like a bunch of ants away from the crazed girl. Renette and Percy were just about to get to the cabins when they heard three voices in unison say, "Phase three!" Followed by more screaming and threats on Clarisse's part. They didn't get to turn around to see, though, because they ran right into something. Or, rather _someone_.

"Ow!" Percy and Renette quickly stood up. They had run right into Nico, who was now laying flat on the ground.

"Sorry." Percy and Renette said at the same time. Then they looked at each other like, 'Woah. That was weird.'

"It's fine." Said Nico dismissively. Percy helped him up, and Nico brushed off his black jeans. Clarisse's screams were dying down behind them. Percy looked nervous.

"Uh- maybe we better move." Percy and Renette walked over to the other side of one of the cabins, Nico with them. The cabin was a beautiful silver. It actually sparkled.

"Artemis's cabin." Said Percy.

"Artemis?" Renette said quizzically. "But I thought she didn't have any kids."

"No, she doesn't. It's sort of, like, commemorative." Said Percy, thoughtfully.

"Oh, okay. Otherwise, she'd what, get mad?"

"Yeah. Probably." Said Percy.

"Hm." Renette said. It was just like the gods to flip out over nothing. So what if she didn't have a cabin? She doesn't have any kids!

"So, Nico? Are you staying over at camp tonight?" Asked Percy.

"Yeah, I think so. We're leaving first thing tomorrow, so I might as well. Which brings us to another point." He looked at Renette.

"The prophecy said-"

"Prophecy?"

"Yeah. Prophecy. Like, you know. The Oracle." Said Nico.

"You guys have an _Oracle_?"

"Well, yeah." Percy said sheepishly.

"Anyway," Nico began. "The prophecy said something about newfound demigods. At least, that's what we think it meant. So..."

"So what? What does the prophecy say, exactly?"

"Tell you in a little bit. But right now, we need to know if you'll join our quest." Percy said.

"What quest?" Renette asked. They weren't explaining anything.

"We're on a quest right now. To save Percy's girlfriend, and a couple friends of ours."

"Oh." She looked at Percy. "Why does she need saving?"

"My girlfriend- Her name's Annabeth- was kidnapped about a week ago. Along with a couple of other campers."

"Kidnapped by who, I might ask?"

"By Ouranos. She was kidnapped by Ouranos." Said Percy, looking glum. That's why he kept looking like he'd lost something important. He had. He had lost his girlfriend. And his friends. They had been kidnapped by Ouranos? Like, the sky? Then weren't they in danger, standing outside under the sky?

"Ouranos? Maybe we should, like, go inside then?" Renette said, looking around frantically.

"It's no problem right now." Percy said, emphasis on the _right now_. "There are enchantments on the camp that protect us."

"Oh." Renette said. "And if I go with you, I could help you save these guys?" She didn't like it, but she felt like she should redeem herself. She had kept the truth from Julia so long, she needed to do something actually good for the universe. Plus, helping these guys get their friends back was just a nice thing to do.

"Yep. You might be the difference between life and death for us." Nico said.

"Who are the other demigods?" Asked Renette.

"Piper McLean. Jason Grace. Good friends of ours." Percy said.

Renette didn't really have to think about any longer.

"I'm in. I'll help you."

"That's great! We leave tomorrow morning-" Percy began, but was cut off by the sound of a cell phone ringing. Percy looked extremely confused. Nico's eyes widened in shock. He reached into his aviator coat pocket and pulled out an older model cell phone.

"Nico! Why do you have that?" Percy said.

"I... I forgot I had it."

"You're putting us in danger! Turn if off!"

"I can't." He looked horrified.

"Excuse me, but why are phones bad?" Renette butted in.

"They attract monsters! Nico knows this!" Percy replied.

"I-I'm sorry. But I've got to answer it." Percy looked offended.

"Hello?" Nico said, with the phone to his ear.

"NICO!" They heard someone scream through the phone. Nico had to hold it away from his ear in order to not go deaf.

"Qu-QUIET DOWN!" He yelled at the phone, in order to get the screaming to stop. Percy and Renette heard a yelp, and someone chattering away at high speed. It wasn't screaming anymore, but it was definitely loud.

"Sl-" Nico began.

"Slow-" The voice got faster and faster. Nico looked extremely concerned.

"Slow down, slow down!" He said, looking more worried by the second. The chattering slowed down majorly, and they heard the person breathing hard.

"Okay. Okay. What about Anita- I'm coming to get you. Just- yeah." They heard a scream- but it was a scream of fear. Nico's eyes widened in terror, and he threw the phone back into his pocket.

"I need to go. NOW."

"What is it?" Percy asked, frantically.

"Nothing- I- I just need to go." He started walking towards the back of the cabin.

"It sure didn't sound like 'nothing'!" Percy made air quotes.

"Don't worry about it. I'll be back before you know it." Nico said quickly.

"Are you going to shadow travel? You're a son of Hades, aren't you?" Renette asked.

"Yeah, I am. See you guys later."

"Wait!" Percy cried. "There's a monster involved?" Nico sighed exasperatedly, and nodded.

"Then we're going with you. Aren't we, Renette?" Percy said, nudging her.

"Um- yeah! We are!" She said. Renette was worried, though. She didn't have any weapons. And she didn't want to leave Julia. But she also didn't want whoever was being attacked to get eaten or something. Nico glared at them.

"Fine." Percy and Renette each grabbed one of Nico's arms, and they ran into the shadows. To where? Renette had no idea.

* * *

**So? What did you think? Review, please! I like reviews. **

**Do you approve of Leo being friends with the Stolls? I think they would be. They would be like super-pranksters.**

**I've decided to update this around once a week. That gives me time to write and edit new chapters thoroughly. Hoped you like it!**

**PS- It wasn't too OOC, was it?**


	3. Chapter 3: P e R c Y

**Well, um, Hi. Sorry this chapter is a day late. But a super long chapter should make up for that, right? I honestly hate this one. I think it's horrible. But I posted it, because I figured that it couldn't be the worst fanfic ****_ever_****.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson. Or Thailand, for that matter.**

* * *

III

PeRcY

Sometimes, Percy absolutely hated shadow traveling. Most of the time, he loved it. He could take it a couple times and it would still be awesome, but after the fifth time of the day, it just made him sick. How, oh how, could Nico and Mrs. O'Leary do it all the time? Did Percy just compare Nico to a Hellhound? Why indeed he had. They were sort of similar, in some aspects. Like... Mrs. O'Leary had black fur. And Nico wore mostly black. Of course, Mrs. O'Leary didn't keep a cell phone, and apparently Nico di Angelo did. Yeah, okay. Annabeth had a cell phone. But... Wasn't it off most of the time?

When Percy opened his eyes, he felt like he was about to puke. The shadow traveling this time seemed to have been a lot faster. Like something was helping it along. _Was_ something helping them? Or was it Ouranos, luring them into a trap? The former seemed like a nicer idea.

Percy heard a yelp, and he drew his trusty ball point pen. The pen, called Riptide, had gotten him out of numerous sticky situations. No, it wasn't from _writing_ someone to death. When you uncap the pen, it turned into a three-foot long celestial bronze sword, with a wicked sharp edge. It was originally made by Zoë Nightshade, one of the hunters of Artemis and ex-Hesperide. She had given it to Hercules (Who was a big jerk-face. He must've been stupid, too. Destroy the Argo II? Percy knew Leo would've fought him off with his bare hands before Hercules even touched the ship. In fact, Leo had said something about wanting to go down there and "give him a royal whooping, Leo style"), and eventually it wound up in Percy's possession. Now Zoë was in the stars... it's a long story. The blade was supposedly cursed- but that wasn't going to stop Percy from using it. And by the sound of it, he was going to need it very soon.

Nico took off running, yelling "Penny!" At the top of his lungs. They were in the alleys of lesser New York, in the middle of a school day. It was kind of dark in the alley. Overflowing dumpsters lined the sides of it, and graffiti added a colorful accent. Percy saw all sorts of graffiti- from beautiful murals to sloppy messages saying things like "Bob was here". Scanning the wall, some street art caught Percy's eye. It was some sort of saying or quote. It made him sad, because it reminded him of his lost friends. And, most of all- his missing girlfriend, Annabeth. He missed her so much. Sometimes he felt hopeless. The graffiti only reminded Percy of that. It said:

"If you find friends, you will never lose them.

If you lose friends, you will never find them."

Percy knew it was stupid, of course. The quote didn't even make sense. But he just missed them so much. Even though he didn't show it, Percy could tell Leo was taking it hard, too. Jason and Piper had been his best friends. Leo tried to cover up how worried he was and how much he missed them with jokes and laughter, but Percy knew better. That was Leo's defense system- humor. Sometimes Percy almost envied him- but for the most part, Percy felt sorry for him. Never showing your true feelings.

"Percy! Wake up! Let's go!" Renette said, whooshing past him. That got Percy out of his gloom, and he followed Renette. She seemed nice enough. Kind of secretive. Percy tried to figure out who her godly parent was, but the only thing he could come up with was that she was the daughter of... Well, Poseidon. She could create earthquakes, right? And Poseidon was the earth-shaker. She didn't seem like his sister, though. Of course, Tyson hadn't seemed like his brother, either, but look how that turned out. Percy thought of Tyson as his brother now. And really, he might as well be. Nobody could ask for a better friend. Percy wouldn't mind having Renette as a sister. But something told him that she just wasn't.

When Percy emerged out of the dark alleyway, the light was blinding. He saw Renette dashing down the street after Nico, and he ran after them. Strangely, Percy felt like he was being followed. He couldn't look behind him, though, otherwise he'd lose Nico and Renette. Sometimes he felt like he was being followed anyway. It was Ouranos. He was the sky, after all. He saw everything. It was like a little feeling on the back of his neck- like someone was watching. Hadn't Renette said something like that?

Up ahead, Nico was running towards no direction in particular. He stopped for a moment, looking around. Percy and Renette caught up to him while he was frantically looking around.

"Where?!" He said, frustrated. "Penny! Penelope!"

Up ahead and to his left, Percy saw a person running towards them at top speed, followed closely by a big lion-thing monster. It better not be a manticore. Percy _could_ _not_ deal with another manticore.

"That's where." He said, pointing. Nico took off, yelling "Penny! Keep running!"

Percy and Renette ran after Nico. As the person got closer, Percy could tell it was a girl. And the thing behind her- it was a large lion, with a woman's face. A sphinx. Memories of his first encounter with a sphinx flashed across his mind. Memories with Annabeth. How stubborn she had been about not answering the sphinx's stupid trivia questions. Percy missed her so much. They had been together three years now. It was horrible to be without her.

The girl and the sphinx approached, faster and faster until- BAM! The girl barreled straight into Nico.

"Oof!" She knocked him over, and the sphinx leapt over them. It turned around and snarled.

"Answer my riddles incorrectly, demigod? Losers die!"

"Hey! Back off!" Percy yelled, swiping Riptide at the sphinx. It looked a lot like the last one Percy saw, with her hair pulled in to a tight bun and too much makeup. Behind him, the girl was talking so fast that Percy couldn't understand. The sphinx leapt over them again, to the side it was originally running from. Percy turned, and saw the girl had stood up and was facing the sphinx.

"P-P-Penny, you need to move." Said Nico. The girl- Penny, Percy guessed- made a strangled noise, and dashed down the alley to the left. Then Percy found out why he felt like he was being followed- because he was. Another sphinx leapt over them, beside the first sphinx. They looked almost identical, except the new one had blonde hair, while the other had brown. They chased Penny down the alleyway.

"No!" Nico cried. He dashed down the alleyway.

"Renette?" Said Percy.

"What?"

"What kind of weapon do you have?" She held up her empty hands, signaling she didn't have one. Percy sighed.

"You protect Penny, okay? I'll take a sphinx." Renette nodded. At the end of the alley, Penny was cornered. There was a sphinx on either side of her, snarling.

"You have failed!" Said one.

"Prepare to die!" Said the other. Penny looked incredibly angry, and like she was about to give them a piece of her mind, but she was interrupted.

"I don't think so!" Said Nico, as he emerged from the shadows. He slashed clean through a sphinx with an jet black Stygian iron sword. The black blade drank up the sphinx's essence, leaving only dust behind. Percy lunged at the sphinx on the left, and Renette ran straight for Penny. The sphinx hissed at Percy, and swiped at him. Percy dodged it, and slashed at it. He lopped its right paw right off, and it started to disintegrate. But it didn't die yet, oh no. Not before it turned, swiping Renette off her feet. She flew back and hit the alley wall, clunking her head. She sat up, and Percy could've sworn he saw something flash in her eyes. The concrete started to crack right underneath the almost completely dissolved sphinx. The ground started to shake. Percy was afraid the buildings might start to crumble.

"Renette! Stop!" Cried Percy.

"Yes! Stop! Stop, stop Renette!" Renette said, slapping herself. The ground stopped shaking, and she exhaled. As she did so, the ground seemed to reverse. The thin crack sealed itself. Renette didn't seem fazed at all, like it was a normal occurrence. Percy capped Riptide, now that the danger was over. But he almost drew his sword again when Renette started looking around frantically.

"Umm... Where's Penny?"

"Ah!" Nico said, looking around just as frantically as Renette.

"Uhh... Hi." Came a voice from above them. Percy looked up, and halfway up the fire escape there was a girl, bathed in sunlight. She was clutching her left arm. That seemed almost cowardly. She left them alone to fight sphinxes while she ran?

When Nico saw her, he dashed for the fire escape. He didn't reach it, because Penny got to him first. She sat on the ledge of the fire escape and slid down. She had a spiky hair cut a lot like Percy's friend, Thalia, only much shorter. The bangs were a bit too long, like she had forgotten to cut them. Percy had thought her hair was black at first, but when it hit the light, he could tell it was a very, very dark blue. She had black jeans, a black t-shirt with what looked like a green Martian on it, and a black leather jacket. Nico looked completely relieved that she was alive, but she didn't look too happy to see him.

That's weird, Percy thought. Didn't she call him here?

Penny walked right up to Nico, and for a second Percy thought she was about to hug him. Instead, she shoved him back. He looked really surprised, and so was Percy. Why had she shoved him?

"What did I do this time?" He asked loudly.

"Do you have _any idea_ how long I was running from those Sphinxes?"

"I-" Nico said, at a loss for words.

"Oh, shut up." She said. Then she _did_ hug him. He looked just as surprised as he had before when she had shoved him, but he hugged her back. After a brief moment, she pulled away.

"I think someone's trying to kill me, Nico." Penny said, her head in her hands.

"What? Who?"

"I don't know. But that's the reason I had to call you. I called Anita, too. She didn't answer though. Someone stole the stuff you and her gave me."

Okay. This was weird. Since when did Nico know other people? Why had he and this Anita girl given Penny anything? Oh, and someone was trying to get her killed.

"Both?"

"Yeah... And then they showed up." Penny pointed to the sphinxes. "They said I smelled like a demigod. I think they smelled you and Anita on me."

"Oh my gods. This is all our fault."

"No, it's not your fault! It's mine... I didn't pronounce something right. In the test they gave me."

Percy butted in at this point.

"Where did you run into these buffoons?" He asked her. Penny stepped towards him, and held out her right hand to be shaken.

"You must be Percy, huh? I've heard a lot about you." She said, smiling. "And to answer your question, they were my "substitute teachers" for the day." She made air quotes, but only with her right hand, which was weird. "At least, one of them was. The other was waiting. I think they're sisters."

"Heard a lot about me, eh? I can't say Nico's ever mentioned you before." Percy said, shooting Nico a glare. What kind of embarrassing stories had the kid told her?

Penny laughed.

"No, I didn't think he'd mention me." She said. When she laughed, Percy could see that her teeth were perfectly straight. She had dark eyeliner around her bright blue eyes. She was actually really pretty. In Percy's mind, she wasn't really anything compared to Annabeth, but who really stood a chance against Annabeth?

Nico walked up beside Penny.

"You're hurt." He said.

"It's nothing." Penny said quickly, turning away. Percy could see it was her left arm, the one she had been clutching earlier.

"Let me see it." Nico said, a little annoyed. Penny sighed.

"Fine." She turned her left side toward him. Percy stepped up to get a better look, and it wasn't pretty. Her leather jacket had been clawed straight through, leaving a nasty row of slash marks. She flinched as Nico got close to touching it.

"Sorry." He said. "You're going to have to take your jacket off."

"Well, I would." Penny said. "But I can't move my arm." Nico took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Penny. But this is going to hurt." He took her left arm and started straightening it out to the side, all the time muttering "sorry, sorry," under his breath. She tried to act like she wasn't in pain, but Percy could tell. Every couple of seconds she would intake a sharp breath.

"Percy, help me get this jacket off." Nico said. Percy helped Penny get her jacket off on her right side, and Nico slipped off her left side. Her arm dropped back to the side, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, Percy, you got any nect- never mind. Either of you got any bandages?" Neither Renette nor Percy answered. Why would Percy have bandages? Maybe Nico had forgotten, but they had left Camp Half Blood on rather short notice.

"Julia, why don't you just-" Renette stopped abruptly. Percy wasn't sure what had happened between them earlier, but he had seen Renette crying. Julia had gotten mad at her or something. Maybe Nico had some idea of what had happened, too, because he looked uncomfortable. Percy could tell Penny was about to ask something, but he cut her off. Gods know what she was about to say.

"So then, you can see through the mist?" Percy asked Penny.

"Yep."

"You know about Camp Half Blood?"

"Yep."

"Nico told you?"

"Yep."

"You've heard a lot about me? Like a whole lot?"

"Yep."

"Any embarrassing stories?"

"Yep." Percy swore. That kid was going to get it. Percy glared at Nico while Nico just smiled nervously. Percy went back to his quick fire questions.

"You're a mortal?"

"Yep."

"Can you say anything besides 'yep'?"

"Yep." Penny smiled mischievously.

"Shouldn't we be, you know, going now?" Asked Renette.

"Yeah, I guess we should." Nico said glumly.

"Wait!" Cried Penny.

"What?" Percy replied.

"Take me with you!"

"I'm sorry, Penny. But we can't. No mortals at Camp." Nico said. He looked almost sad.

"I know, but... Wait. Don't you guys have a mortal at Camp? The Oracle? Her name's Rachel, right?" So Penny knew that they had an Oracle, and that her name was Rachel. How much had Nico told her?

"Yeah, but, that was a special case. Wasn't it?" Said Percy. He didn't know what the deal with that was, exactly. It was just because she was The Oracle, right?"

"I don't think so, Penny. Sorry." Said Nico.

"But... Nico..." She said. "I can't go back home, not now. Dad... He's... You know. Kristy's run off again. And I really hate the homeless shelter..." Percy felt so sorry for her right then and there he almost said 'Rules schmules. Let's get you to Camp.' But he didn't. He would get everyone in trouble. Beside him, Renette looked like she was about to cry. Nico looked incredibly torn. Penny looked down. She kicked at the sphinx dust. "I always knew teachers were evil." She said.

"Never mind. I'll just go to the shelter. Of maybe I'll crash in a church tonight." She started to walk away. She turned the corner of the alley. Nico looked guilty.

"That's it. I'm sending an Iris message to Chiron." Announced Percy. He ran out of the alley and across the street. He saw a broken water pipe sticking out of the wall, and it sprayed the air, making the concrete wet. If you looked at it at just the right angle, a little rainbow was visible.

"Either of you got a drachma?" Percy asked. Both Renette and Nico shook their heads.

"I hope this works, then." Percy said, digging around in his pocket. He dug around until he found the little coin he always kept with him. He felt kind of stupid, using a penny, but it was all he had. Percy cleared his throat, and threw the penny through the mist.

"O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show Chiron at Camp Half Blood."

Nothing happened. He picked the penny back up. He'd have to try and use Fleecy's direct number. You might be wondering who Fleecy is. Well, Fleecy was a cloud nymph Percy had met on his quest with Hazel and Frank to Alaska. She worked for Iris and managed most of the message requests. Percy remembered her home number, and hopefully Fleecy liked him enough to do him a favor. He threw the penny.

"O Fleecy, do me a solid. Show Chiron at Camp Half Blood."

Both Nico and Renette looked at him like he was an absolute freak, but to Percy's surprise, it worked. The mist started to shimmer, and a picture of a guy in wheelchair sitting at a table playing cards was in view.

"Chiron!" Percy called. The centaur looked over, startled, and dropped his cards.

"Wha- what is it, Percy? Why are you not at Camp?"

"Emergency. Um, listen." Percy began. "Is it okay if-" Percy didn't finish. What was he supposed to say? 'Hey, this mortal got hurt, can we bring her to Camp?' Well, Nico said almost exactly that.

"Look, we've got a mortal who was injured. Really badly. So- could we, like, bring her to Camp?"

"Nico, I don't-"

"Please. She got attacked by a sphinx."

"Mortals can't enter camp."

"What about Rachel?" Asked Percy.

"Well, that's a different case. She's the Oracle."

"Couldn't you just weaken the defenses a little bit? So we can shadow travel in?" Percy said.

"Alright, fine. But only until she is well again." Chiron looked extremely uncomfortable and nervous.

"Alright, great! We'll see if we can find her!"

"On one condition." Chiron said, which considerably dampened Percy's spirits.

"What?" Nico asked.

"How much time will you need to find her?"

"Umm..." Nico said. "An hour?"

"Very well. In-" Chiron didn't finish. He looked above him, and took a pad of paper and a pencil from the table he was sitting at. He looked like he was on the porch of the Big House. On it, he wrote: 'Ouranos may be watching, as he is the sky. Come closer.' Percy, Renette and Nico stepped closer. Chiron flipped the page, and wrote: 'In one hour's time, our magic preventing mortals from entering will be lifted ever so slightly.' He sat the paper back on the table.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we'll be able to help your friend." He said, glancing up.

"Oh, that's too bad." Said Nico. Chiron nodded, and in the background Percy heard Mr. D yelling.

"Mortal?! It's bad enough with that Dare girl hanging around!" Percy was about to give Mr. D a piece of his mind, but the call cut short.

"Thanks, Fleecy!" Percy announced to the sky.

"Should I even ask?" Said Renette.

"No, you really shouldn't." Said Nico. "Let's go fetch Penny."

* * *

After what seemed like hours of searching, they found Penny. But she wasn't just walking away, she was being dragged away. They were wandering around, looking for her, when they heard.

"Ah! Let me go!" She sounded like she was crying.

"I don't think sooo... You've... You've run away for... The LAST time. When I'm through with you, you won't be able to walk." Came a slurred voice, and audible struggling. When Nico heard it, he sort of freaked out. That was very un-Nicolike, to freak out. He ran out to the street from the alley they were in. Renette and Percy had a hard time keeping up with him, but they eventually did. What Percy saw, though, made him sick.

Penny was there, being dragged across the concrete by a man who looked to be in his fifties. She was struggling to get away. He was keeping hold of her on her upper left arm, on the cuts she got from the sphinx. Percy could tell it was on purpose. The man looked up at them, and smiled with crooked teeth.

"Ah, I see! Hanging out with your boyfriend again?" Percy almost launched himself at the guy right then and there. But he was mortal, so he thought he should think twice.

"What did you do with Sally?" Penny shrieked at him. Percy flinched at the mention of his mom's name. He knew Penny wasn't talking about his mom, but it still registered.

"None of your business!" The guy yelled at her, and pulled her farther down the street.

"I swear to gods, Joseph, you let her go." Nico said. He looked like he was keen on cutting this crazy in half, and it was taking a lot of willpower not too. Percy felt the same. He looked to his right at Renette, and she looked just as angry. Only she seemed to be having a harder time controlling it.

"Why don't you make me?" The Joseph guy spat at them. Nico looked over at Percy, like, 'We can take him.' Percy nodded. The Joseph guy was huge, and maybe Nico and Percy both might be a match for him, without swords. The swords wouldn't do any good anyway, the guy was mortal. Celestial bronze would pass right through him. Percy didn't know about Stygian iron, but he would guess it was the same. They both started to walk towards him, and Percy almost gagged at the stench of alcohol. This must've been what Penny was talking about earlier. 'Dad. He's... You know.' She had said. Percy realized she must have meant that her father was drunk of his rocker. But they never got to reach him. Because this crazy lifted Penny to her feet and put a gun (that he had seemingly pulled from nowhere) to her head. Tears were streaming down her face, but she didn't struggle. As he watched her... It seemed like it was a routine of hers. Like it happened all the time.

"Oh, not gonna come at me?" Penny's father asked mockingly.

"Maybe _they_ can't." Renette said from behind them. Percy looked at her, trying to convey something like 'What are you doing? You're going to get her killed!'

"This one has guts." Penny's father said. "Unlike. Your. Little. Boyfriend." He dug the barrel of the revolver into Penny's temple with each word, but she remained silent.

"Let her go, or I will take that gun." Said Renette, rather calmly. She stepped in front of Percy and Nico. The Joseph guy ignored her. He looked down at Penny.

"Why don't I just do it now? Same outcome. You'll never run away again."

"I. Said. Let. Her. Go." Renette repeated. The drunk sneered at her. Percy wished there was something he could do. But he could tell that if he or Nico said a single word or took a single step forward, this lunatic would shoot Penny.

Renette pursed her lips. She held her arm above her head, and the gun flew out of the Joseph guy's hand and straight into her's. She dropped it, and it started to melt, right there on the pavement.

"Metal. Thought so." Said Renette. The Joseph guy's eye's widened, but he started smirking.

"What kind of magic trick was that?" He asked. Magic tricks aside, what was that? Percy was absolutely stunned. Nico didn't look so much surprised, just curious.

"You wanna challenge me? Because that's not the best decision you could make." Renette snarled. The drunk glared at her, and he must've tightened his grip on Penny's arm, because she inhaled sharply. That's it, Percy thought. This guy is a goner. Now that Penny's life wasn't in immediate danger, he was going to pound this guy. But Nico beat him to it. He shoved the guy right to the alley wall, and Penny was released in the process. That almost surprised Percy, because he still sort of thought of Nico as a twelve-year old. But he certainly wasn't a kid anymore. How old was he now? Sixteen, almost seventeen?

Penny gasped when the vice in her arm was removed, and crumpled against the wall. Nico had his sword against the guy's throat. It would never cut him, but Percy knew it was only to scare him. It worked very well. Joseph was shaking. Still, he tried to sound tough.

"Finally... Finally grew a spine, did you?"

"I should send you to Tartarus, where you belong!" Nico said. Frankly, Percy agreed with him. Both Percy and Nico had _been_ to Tartarus. Like, _in person_. So both of them knew what was down there. The most horrible monsters ever... And this guy would probably be at home with them. Percy didn't like to talk about it, much less think about it. At least he had had Annabeth with him the whole time. That was the only thing that got him through that. Percy still had nightmares about it. Not all the monsters were the worst, though. Some of them were just the regular old demigods-are-delicious types that everyone knew and loved. But still. Were they sure their swords wouldn't cut him? He seemed as bad as any monster, to Percy.

"Allow me to do the honors." Said Renette's voice from behind Percy. The Joseph guy started to sink. Percy looked down, but the guy's feet were nowhere to be found. He had sunk into the ground up to his knees. The sidewalk had cracked, and soil was inching up him, sucking him down. The tendrils of dirt surrounded him up to his chest, binding his arms to his side. It really freaked Percy out, big time. It reminded him of a time during the second giant war, when the ground was trying to swallow them up...

Renette walked forward and shoved Nico out of the way. Penny's father had sunken in far enough that he and Renette were face to face. Renette forced her forearm against his throat, choking him. He tried to move, but the soil wasn't letting him.

"Are you afraid to die?" She asked him. The guy didn't answer, but fear was alive in his eyes. He kept sinking further and further, and Renette backed up. He sank and sank and sank, until Percy had to stop Renette from killing him.

"Renette! That's enough." He said.

"Is it?" She asked, rhetorically. She closed her eyes and stopped him from sinking when he was up to his neck. "Because I don't think I should stop. I don't think he deserves it."

"We can't kill him." Percy said. Killing a mortal was sort of considered a big no-no in the world of demigods. But was this guy really any different than a monster?

"Leave him." Percy said. "Sink him up to his nose." She smiled, and closed her eyes. The drunk began to sink, cursing the whole while, until he couldn't swear anymore. Percy kneeled and made sure he could still breath. Let's see the police try and figure that one out.

Off to the left, Nico was with Penny, who had passed out. Renette was already over there, checking on her arm.

"We need to get her back to Camp. Like, NOW." Nico said. How were they going to transport her? They needed something like a car. What about something as big as a car?

"Nico, go back to Camp. Get Mrs. O'Leary." Percy said. Nico looked like he didn't want to leave Penny, but he was the only one who could go.

"No." Said Renette. "I'll go." Percy was astounded. Nico didn't say anything, but he had that same curious look on his face that he had had earlier.

"Umm, no offense, but how?" Percy asked. Renette fumbled with a necklace that Percy hadn't noticed before. The chain was silver, and the pendant looked like a coin.

"I have... Ways." Renette said.

"If you think you can." Nico said.

"I'll be back really soon, okay?" She said, and took off into the nearest alley.

"That was... Weird." Percy said. It really was, too. Was that necklace a magic item or something?

"Not really." Said Nico. Percy was about to say something, but Nico just shook his head. "I'll tell you later." He said.

"So you think you know who her mom or dad is."

"Yep. Well, I don't know for sure. But... Probably."

"What do you-" Percy began, but he was cut off, because Penny started to shift. She opened her eyes. Percy could see that one of her eyes was bruising.

"Kristy?" She said. Hadn't she mentioned that name earlier?

"Wha-" Percy didn't get to finish. A voice came from right beside his head.

"Hey, Sis."

Both Percy and Nico jumped and turned around. Standing there was a girl that looked around Percy's age, with black hair and a very ticked off look on her face. She reminded Percy of Clarisse, in a way- except this girl looked like she could stand several hours on a treadmill everyday. Somehow, she had been standing less than a foot behind them without being noticed. She shoved past Nico.

"Move it, pipsqueak. Who's your loser friend?" Percy's mouth dropped open. Definitely like Clarisse.

"Leave me alone, Kristy." Nico said tiredly, like he was used to this.

"What the hell happened to you?" Kristy said, kneeling beside Penny.

"I got attacked." She said.

"By what? A saber-toothed tiger?"

"Ha ha, Kristy. No. Two sphinxes. And... Dad." Apparently it _was_ her dad... Of course, Percy thought it was, but he wasn't sure. What a horrible person.

"I'm sorry, sweetie. But you can't go walking so close to the apartment. Where is he now?" Kristy looked genuinely upset.

"I don't know, actually."

"Oh! He's over here!" Percy said, only just remembering Renette had pretty much buried him in asphalt.

"Ha! Would you look at that!" Kristy said, laughing. Her laugh was... Loud. The dude in the ground expelled a lot of air from his nose, like he was trying to yell underground or something.

"Can we sink him further?" She asked.

"Um, well, not right now." Percy said. She looked kind of disappointed.

"Bah! Oh well."

"Also, Kristy..." Penny began.

"What?" Kristy's face switched from mildly disappointed to concerned.

"You're gonna have to start looking for Sally again."

"I... Oh." Kristy said. "On it."

Percy looked at Nico like 'Who's Sally?' And Nico mouthed 'Her little sister.' Percy nodded.

"I'll go look now. Your pipsqueak boyfriend'll take care of you, right?"

"He's not my boyfriend." Penny said, and smiled.

"If you say so."

"And I say so!" Penny exclaimed. Kristy laughed, bent down and kissed Penny on the forehead, then started to walk away.

"Bye!" Penny called after her.

"See you soon!" Said Kristy, waving.

Five minutes later, Mrs. O'Leary bounded out of the alley, Renette holding on for dear life. Percy was kind of annoyed, actually. It had taken Renette _way_ too long to get back. They were going to be late, if they wanted to get Penny to Camp on time. Percy guessed she saw it on his face, because she said "Soooorry." quite dramatically when she looked at him. "I guess I had trouble fending off numerous campers that were demanding information."

"Oh, right." Percy said. He hadn't thought about the fact that people might be freaking out. Percy, Nico and Renette had been gone for a few hours now, and it was mid-afternoon.

Mrs. O'Leary walked over to Penny and gave her a big slobbery lick, right on the face.

"Hey, girl." Penny said, wiping hellhound spit from her face. Apparently she knew Mrs. O'Leary. Penny shakily stood up and Nico helped her climb up on Mrs. O'Leary. Percy went on after them, followed by Renette. Percy counted down on his watch. Roughly thirty seconds to one hour.

"Ready?" Percy said.

"To Camp Half Blood!" Renette announced, before anybody could answer. So Mrs. O'Leary took off happily, running into the darkness.

* * *

**I really hate that chapter. I just hated writing it and stuff. The storyline just sucked, I think. It is an idea I came up with at 4:00 AM though. So if it's bad then that's why. What did you think? I hope you enjoyed it, even if I didn't!**

**Oh yeah, and if you didn't know, I've posted another storyish kind of thing! Here's the Summary: **

**Ever have a question for a Percy Jackson Character? Well here is the  
place to ask it! Even though this story is called Dear Demigods, I'm going to  
include Rachel (Oracle) and the Gods, too! Do you have a question to ask? Send it in, and let the fun begin! Rated K plus because I'm paranoid.**

**It would be awesome if you guys could read it! Or maybe even send a letter/question in! Pretty please?**


End file.
